Category: Winemakers

Another Visit To Narmada

/ Paul / 2 Comments

Last Saturday after seeing the fall grape leaves at Gray Ghost, we stopped by Narmada to see what has been added to the tasting menu.

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Upon entering the gates we noticed they are now doing tastings in the winery among the tanks. Right away we ran into Rob Cox, the winemaker. He preceded to give us a tour of the facility. It’s just about complete. He took us to the unfinished tasting room that promises to be quite a space. We look forward to returning to see the completed tasting room.

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After our tour Rob directed us in tasting the line of Narmada wines. Many of them we tasted back in September but there were a few additions since our last visit. The three additions were the Chardonnay, the Viognier, and the Cabernet Franc.

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We enjoyed them all but the Viognier got our gold star on this visit. This viognier is steel fermented and it spends seven months on oak. I noted citrus fruit and melon. Warren noted honeysuckle and peach. We enjoyed this one so much we enjoyed a glass on the crush pad, which is set up with tables and chairs.

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While enjoying the our glass we got to chat briefly with Sudha Patil, one of the owners. She asked for any advice we might have for the winery. We informed her that they seemed to be doing everything right. We enjoy the wines, the scenery, and we’re sure we’ll enjoy the tasting room when it opens later this month. Plan a visit to Narmada soon and if you do, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Back on the Monticello Trail: Item #3

/ Warren / 1 Comment

So third on our agenda was to revisit wineries that were first timers for us last year: Blenheim Vineyards, Sugarleaf Vineyards, and Pollak Vineyards.

Since our last visit to Blenheim Vineyards, Kirsty Harmon has taken the reins as winemaker. Kirsty personally guided us through the wine tasting, and along the way we got to chat with Kirsty about her visions for Blenheim’s future. Of the white wines, Paul and I both place our gold star next to the 2008 Chardonnay. This crisp Chardonnay gives the impression of a stainless steel-fermented wine; however, this Chardonnay is indeed done in oak barrels—French, American, and Hungarian. How was this achieved? Portions of Chardonnay from each barrel were blended together to present flavors of apples and pears with a subtle lemon on the finish. Not to be missed, though, is the 2008 Viognier with its peachy aromas and flavors with some white pepper noted, too. Another crisp pour, the 2008 Viognier is a blend of Viognier fermented in oak barrels (40% from French, American and Hungarian oak).

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Paul and I split decisions with the red wines. Paul’s star was awarded to the 2008 Seven Oaks Merlot; he noted full, rich cherry flavors; “fruity with a smooth finish” were Paul’s exact words. Aging in French oak did indeed give this 2008 Merlot a silky finish. My own gold star was awarded to the 2008 Blenheim Farm Cabernet Franc . Full cherry and pepper flavors with some earthy notes were also on display here with a nice acidity to boot. A fuller-bodied wine, it provided a lengthier finish.

As we sampled the 2008 offerings, we did observe a fruit-forward approach to making these wines, and Kirsty does admit to embracing this style of winemaking. A protégé of noted winemaker Gabriele Rausse, Kirsty’s wines are ready to drink now, and they could be enjoyed with food or simply on their own. Other changes include the labels which also reflect Kirsty’s artistic input and the use of screw cap enclosures instead of corks. Ten acres of vines now include Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot; however, Kirsty likes a challenge and has planted Pinot Noir. Virginia’s climate is usually not kind to Pinot Noir, but Kirsty relishes the chance to make quality wine from this fickle varietal.

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Kirsty finished our visit to Blenheim Vineyards with a brief tour of the barrel room located beneath the tasting room. Small and immaculate describe the barrel room and quite cool to provide optimum conditions for fermenting wines. Kirsty described to us her commitment to making limited quantities of wine that also presented the highest quality possible; after our tasting, we believe that she has reached her goal.

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Of course, we were hungry and eager to eat—light fare including cubed chicken tossed with pasta and herbs, and Swiss cheese with crackers awaited in the car. Now that Blenheim’s tasting room is open to the public, we decided to enjoy lunch and a mountain view from the lofty, spacious tasting room. What wine did we enjoy? The 2008 Chardonnay.

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After lunch, we purchased wine to bring home, and bid our farewells to Kirsty; we also thanked her for being such a gracious hostess and promised to return soon. So what about Surgarleaf Vineyards and Pollak Vineyards? Item #3 continues on our next post. In the meantime, visit Blenheim Vineyards, and mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.

Summertime Along The Monticello Trail

/ Warren / Leave a comment

Summertime allows us the opportunity to visit lots of wineries especially those that are most distant from home. We made wise use of our time staying in the Charlottesville area, and we had a few items on our agenda. One item was to interview winemakers for an upcoming feature on Viognier, and these included Michael Shaps of Virginia Wineworks, Andy Reagan of Jefferson Vineyards, and Matthieu Finot of King Family. Second on our “to do” list was to visit newer wineries in the Monticello area, and this we did accomplish—Flying Fox Vineyard and Montfair Vineyard were indeed visited by the “dynamic duo”. Item #3 was to re-visit certain wineries that were first visits the last time around to see how things were progressing—Blenheim Vineyards, Sugarleaf Vineyards, and PollakVineyards were placed on the calendar. Next on the list? Visits to established wineries in the area just because we wanted to—Afton Mountain Vineyards, Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, White Hall Vineyard, Cardinal Point Vineyards, and Barboursville Vineyards. Final item—enjoy some down time in the lovely Monticello area. Did we accomplish all of this? Yes, but over a period of five days; so, we have lots to write about for the next several posts!

viognierSo let’s start with Item #1 and our experiences with Viognier. I’ll keep this one brief, because we are planning an extra feature on Virginia Wine Time in the upcoming months which will focus on Viognier. Why Viognier? From our observation, Viognier appears to be the flagship white varietal for Virginia, and this is based on our reading of reviews from wine critics, national and international awards heaped upon Virginia Viogniers, and formal and informal conversations with winemakers. Therefore, we plan to offer a more detailed article on Viognier for the Fall; look for a history of Viognier in Virginia to appear in the spring issue of Edible Chesapeake, too. (Yours truly will be writing that article!)

Our first interview and Viognier tasting was done courtesy of renowned winemaker, Michael Shaps. Michael’s winemaking credentials are well known and quite extensive. His winemaking skills were honed in France, and Michael has lent his considerable talents to several Virginia wineries including King Family. Michael graciously agreed to meet with us on a Friday at Virginia Wineworks, a day that the tasting room is not usually open for tasting. In fact, Michael was already quite busy with the bottling of white wine for First Colony Winery. We had never seen this highly mechanized process in action, so we were quite mesmerized by the whole affair. Before long, though, Michael treated us to a sampling of his two Viognier offerings—the Virginia Wineworks White and the premium Shaps label. The Wineworks White was a blend of Viognier and Vidal Blanc with less that 1% residual sugar, and it proved to be a very nice, uncomplicated sipper. Nice to share with a friend on the deck, serve as an aperitif, or pair with a chicken and cream sauce dish. Our favorite, though, was the Michael Shaps Viognier, and this one we’ve already described on our short video. The Shaps Viognier is indeed premium—aromatic, intense, and full-bodied. It’s done in stainless steel; however, the juice is allowed to soak on the skins to give this Viognier the weightiness often associated with an oak-aged Viognier. Pour to accompany a shellfish dish and enjoy!

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While Michael Shaps prefers to ferment his premium Viognier in stainless steel, Andy Regan of Jefferson Vineyards opts for a mix of fermentation in neutral French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. We sampled Jefferson Vineyards’ 2008 Viognier and concurred with the tasting notes—floral and apricot aromas with complimentary flavors in the mouth framed in a nice acidic structure. I confessed to Andy that I always keep a bottle of the Jefferson Viognier on my wine rack, and I left the winery with a bottle of the 2008 offering. Andy shared with me his own favorite recipe to pair with this lush Viognier—grilled bacon-wrapped tuna steaks topped with homemade salsa. Of course, hearing the details made me hungry, but I left with another great menu suggestion to partner with this lovely Viognier.

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Matthieu Finot of King Family Vineyards presented yet another treatment of Viognier. Finot was trained as a winemaker in Burgundy and brings a classic Old World style to King Family’s Viognier (and Chardonnay, too) and also prefers stainless steel fermentation with some time in neutral French oak barrels. The result? The 2008 offering presented the familiar honeysuckle and stone fruit aromas and flavors; in particular, I noted white peaches. Nice acidic structure and a fuller body, too. Finot likes to sip this one on its own, especially in the summer, or with a shellfish dish. (And yes, I added a bottle of this one to my wine collection, too! )

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Three excellent Viogniers offered to us by three outstanding winemakers—what a treat! Needless to say, we learned lots from the three winemakers as we swirled and sipped, but we’ll reserve these extras for our later article. (Didn’t I say this post would be short? Oh well!) In the meantime, be sure to sample Virginia Viogniers to find out what the buzz is all about; start with these offerings from Virginia Wineworks, Jefferson Vineyards, and King Family Vineyards. Of course, mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you!